Anyone still using conventional oil?

[FASTV6HENRY]

VR1 10W30 with a bottle of ZDDP...works awesome!

 

[robertf]

VR1 10W30 with a bottle of ZDDP...works awesome!

I dont think ZDDP is required with VR1 since it has zinc already. Not sure if too much zinc is good. Maybe someone will chime in.

 

[deezdad]

I use non syn in all Buick builds. I tell the customer syn is fine after the rings are seated, it "may" seep/leak more but won't hurt anything. Your $$$ your car do as you please.

They make a good non synthetic break in oil too, that's what's in it now till it gets some miles on it.

 

[earlbrown]

Syn definetly leaks more

That's how you can tell it flows better.

 

[achalmersman]

Dino in every vehicle I have owned.

VR1 in the GN

Whetever API certified 55 gal drum of correct viscosity / spec dino oil dad has in stock at the shop is what I use

379k miles on my 2003 duramax
165k 2007 Lexus
305k previous silverado 5.7
220k previous 2001 Aurora
225k precious 2000 Monte Carlo

All sold with zero oil related engine problems. The aurora I wholesaled had developed blown HGs and didnt want to change them on that northstar. Monte was totaled by an idiot rear ending my wife.

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[Steve V]

They make a good non synthetic break in oil too, that's what's in it now till it gets some miles on it.

Your rings where seated long before you got it back. People get hung up on breakin, in all reality today with roller cams and lifters/rockers there's no breakin other than seating the rings. Everything is floating on oil, except at start up.

 

[GNVAIR]

Been using dino on everything for years. Daily drivers have been fed steady diet of cheap Walmart oil in the blue containers. Last daily was an 02 Grand Am with a 2.2 Ecotec that went almost 350k before a friend wrecked it. Previous cars all went over 200k.
I use Brad Penn on my Corvairs. Conventional Valvoline 10W30 on the Buick with no additives (roller cam and rockers). Most modern oils are way better than what we had 30+ years ago.

 

[hensleyt]

Dino goes in nothing I own. Not even my lawn mower.


The extra cost is more that offset with the extra gas mileage.

Without hijacking I run VR1 10/30, but bought 12 qts Mobil 1 10/30 for the TR
Earl how many miles our hard passes at the track before you change oil ?

 

[Turbo6inKY]

Lots of crap in here.

"I've been using X with no problems!"

Really? Tear your engine down and measure some stuff. Or show us long-term oil analysis results from a lab. Then make a claim like that. If you haven't done that, then shut up. You have no idea if you have a problem or not.

The reality is synthetics last longer, have a much higher heat tolerance, flow WAY better cold (and cold starts are where most of your wear occurs), and are more resistant to chemical breakdown than conventional oils. Period. Full stop. End of story.

Do you need to buy $10/qt magic synthentic? No. Whatever full synthetic is on sale is good enough.
Leaks? Your gaskets are shit. Fix them.
Flat tappet? Run Royal Purple HPS or put a ZDDP additive in your Mobil1.

 

[earlbrown]

Earl how many miles our hard passes at the track before you change oil ?

When my GN was stolen and destroyed it had well over 1/4 million miles on an unopened engine.


''Hard passes at the track'' would be counted as slightly more than one+ shitload. When cars are sorted out and put up with full throttle.... well, they put up with full throttle.


Back then my car was a DD. I live in GA, drove it to FL, AL, SC, TN, NC, and 90+ miles per day back and forth to work 6 days per week. All on plain Jane Mobil1 shelf oil.

 

[longball]

[QUOTE "Leaks? Your gaskets are shit. Fix them. [/QUOTE]

This^

Synthetic oil does not cause leaks - bad gaskets do.

 

[achalmersman]

Lots of crap in here.

"I've been using X with no problems!"

Really? Tear your engine down and measure some stuff. Or show us long-term oil analysis results from a lab. Then make a claim like that. If you haven't done that, then shut up. You have no idea if you have a problem or not.

The reality is synthetics last longer, have a much higher heat tolerance, flow WAY better cold (and cold starts are where most of your wear occurs), and are more resistant to chemical breakdown than conventional oils. Period. Full stop. End of story.

Do you need to buy $10/qt magic synthentic? No. Whatever full synthetic is on sale is good enough.
Leaks? Your gaskets are shit. Fix them.
Flat tappet? Run Royal Purple HPS or put a ZDDP additive in your Mobil1.

Really? You're insane if you think I will be "tearing down" a factory assembled rotating assy on an engine that has zero noise, perfect oil pressure, runs great, and has almost 400k miles on it. Just to "measure clearances".

I dont need to tear it down to know there is no oil related problem.

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[Boostrules]

Syn definetly leaks more

I've seen that firsthand & switched back to conventional oil. Have a slight leak at the rear main that got worse with synthetic & less so when I switched back. What about those synthetic blends for "high mileage" cars with a bottle of zddp? Was thinking of trying that with the next oil change. Maybe the best of both worlds.

 

[Turbo6inKY]

Really? You're insane if you think I will be "tearing down" a factory assembled rotating assy on an engine that has zero noise, perfect oil pressure, runs great, and has almost 400k miles on it. Just to "measure clearances".

I dont need to tear it down to know there is no oil related problem.

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I'm not insane. People in here are making completely unsubstantiated claims. Has your engine survived because of the product you use; or the simple fact you maintain it fastidiously? You don't really know unless you collect some data.

You don't have to crack the engine open, either. Just get samples analyzed at a lab. They'll tell you exactly what's happening inside the engine. Once you have a baseline, you can switch brands for an interval or two and see what changes.

Any oil on the shelf is going to be fine if the change intervals are short enough. That makes no statement whatsoever as to whether oil A is better than oil B.

 

[achalmersman]

I'm not insane. People in here are making completely unsubstantiated claims. Has your engine survived because of the product you use; or the simple fact you maintain it fastidiously? You don't really know unless you collect some data.

You don't have to crack the engine open, either. Just get samples analyzed at a lab. They'll tell you exactly what's happening inside the engine. Once you have a baseline, you can switch brands for an interval or two and see what changes.

Any oil on the shelf is going to be fine if the change intervals are short enough. That makes no statement whatsoever as to whether oil A is better than oil B.

I dont need to spend $50 to have a lab analyze my oil. Its doing its job. The diesel engine with 379k miles has never had the oil changed less than 10k miles. The 98 5.7 was every 5k miles. The monte carlo and aurora were whenever the GM OLM came on which was usually around 6-7500 miles, the lexus is every 5k miles. I use napa gold filters which are wix.

To say I dont know how well the oil is doing without getting a lab result is ridiculous. If there were ANY lubrication related problems they would not survive that long.

You seem to butt hurt because there are some of us that still use API certified oil that meets manufacture specs and have no problem. I have no problem with synthetic oil if it makes you feel better. But ill spend my money elsewhere. I just have a problem with your attitude and saying that anybody that says they have had no problems with conventional oil needs to "shut up".

The OP asked "who still uses conventional oil" I do. And I will keep doing so.

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[Turbo6inKY]

You're interpretation of me as butthurt is way off. I'm not offended by any of this. I'm also not accusing you of anything other than properly maintaining your vehicles (the horror!).

You're right. If you use a properly certified product and change it often enough, it'll be fine. But that still doesn't tell anybody if product A is better or worse than product B. Just that's its good enough.

 

[achalmersman]

You're interpretation of me as butthurt is way off. I'm not offended by any of this. I'm also not accusing you of anything other than properly maintaining your vehicles (the horror!).

You're right. If you use a properly certified product and change it often enough, it'll be fine. But that still doesn't tell anybody if product A is better or worse than product B. Just that's its good enough.

Fair enough. Just don't make the assumption that ANY variety of product B is better than Every variety of product A just because it costs more.

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[robertf]

Really? You're insane if you think I will be "tearing down" a factory assembled rotating assy on an engine that has zero noise, perfect oil pressure, runs great, and has almost 400k miles on it. Just to "measure clearances".

I dont need to tear it down to know there is no oil related problem.

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Very very impressive. 400k.

 

[earlbrown]

These oil threads kill me. Everyone seems to have a hard-on for what is 'better', 'better', 'better'.....



Here's the thing. If WHATEVER oil you run does it's job... THAT'S IT. That's all it can do.

If someone has an engine that lives and works with an oil pan full of whale snot and vinegar, then that's all you can ask for.

It's binary. it either does the job or it doesn't.



Something else to consider.. The 'worst' (name brand) oil available today is lightyears better than the 'best' oil available 30 years ago.



In the grand scheme of things it wasn't too long ago that an engine with 100,000 miles on it was a wore out, smoking POS.

With todays oil, I can build one of those 70's POSs on my front porch, double the HP, beat the crap out of it for 100,000+ and still have a nice engine. Same iron block, same aluminum pistons, same bearings... the only difference is modern oil technology.



On a side note, I came across this at random this morning. For those that say synthetic causes leaks, this is why...

..all you need is an engine with iffy gaskets and seals. Personally, I'll take the extra flow and fix my seals.

 

[~JM~]

Rumor has it that Whale Snot is very slippery.

Also heard that the oil previously rendered from Sperm Whales is no longer available in ATF leading to a higher failure rate of automatic transmissions.

How about an oils ability to cling to surfaces during extended periods of non-operation? I've often heard that conventional oil has more "cling-ability" than synthetic.